


I'll Be Here

by lochness8



Category: Cirque du Freak | The Saga of Darren Shan - Darren Shan
Genre: Darius content, Darius gets the father figure he deserves, Darius has a nightmare and Arrow is a dad, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I just want my son to be happy, Nightmares, Oneshot, Takes place after the series, Wholesome Arrow is a dad hours, at last i provide this fandom with my specialty, spoilers for book 11 onwards
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:15:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26415508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lochness8/pseuds/lochness8
Summary: He wasn't sure when the boy had started hanging around the halls, or how he had even gotten inside, but Arrow had to admit, he was beginning to enjoy the boy's company.In which Darius has a nightmare, and he receives some unexpected comfort from Arrow. Oneshot.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	I'll Be Here

**Author's Note:**

> Me? Posting when I still ain't updated House of the Rising Sun? It's more likely than you think. But no really I'll work on it soon I promise. But I've been craving Darius content, and seeing as I am a generator of it, I figured it was about time I posted a Darius fic where he gets the father figure he deserves.

_ He wasn't sure when the boy had started hanging around the halls, or how he had even gotten inside, but Arrow had to admit, he was beginning to enjoy the boy's company.  _

* * *

Things had been quiet today. Arrow had been awake, allowing Mika and Vancha to rest. No one usually entered the hall at this hour, except for the few occasions Seba would join whichever Prince was still awake at the time. So Arrow had been left alone with his thoughts, and was doing his best not to fall asleep on his throne. 

So when someone entered the hall, the prince nearly jumped out of his skin. He was even more surprised to see who it was. Darius had entered the hall, visibly shaken, and seemed just as surprised to see him. 

"Oh- Sorry- I-I just- I thought Vancha was in- I mean-" The boy tried to stutter the words out, looking down at the ground as he rubbed the back of his neck. 

It made sense. The boy had latched on to Vancha, and Arrow understood why. Mika had an intimidating presence, and the whole mountain knew how Arrow felt about the vampaneze, so it had no surprise to him that the boy seemed to avoid the both of them. Vancha was the one who understood what the boy had gone through the most out of all of them, he wasn't surprised that the boy had attached himself to the man.  


Arrow had hardly known how to feel when Darius had first arrived, but he knew one thing:  _ Darius was only a child. _ Whatever Arrow had felt towards the vampaneze and their Lord, he would never take it out on Darius.  _ The boy had been through enough as it was. _

Arrow could tell something was wrong with the boy. He was able to tell the minute he had opened his mouth. Darius was usually a quiet kid, and he was almost sure this was the most he'd heard the boy speak the entire time he'd been on the mountain. The way the boy seemed to scramble over his words just made it obvious.   


"It's alright Darius," Arrow assured him, "I just didn't expect to see you." 

"I- You're… You're probably busy, I-I should go-" Darius turned to leave, but stopped in his tracks as Arrow spoke. 

"You can stay if you'd like Darius, I don't mind. Besides, maybe you could help keep me awake." 

Darius wasn't sure if he wanted to stay, but he wasn't going to leave if Arrow didn't want him to. Nervously, the boy turned to face the other once more, his eyes still staring at the ground. 

Arrow knew that look. The dark circles under his eyes, the redness that made Arrow almost certain the boy had been crying had only one explanation. Nightmares. He was sure of it, he remembered comforting his own children after them enough times to know the signs by now.  _ Not to mention he'd had enough of his own nightmares himself.  _

"Something's bothering you," He said, "You wouldn't be here if it wasn't." 

"I-It's nothing," Darius replied, still avoiding looking at the other, "Really, it's… it's not that important-" 

"Darius, you can tell me," Arrow said gently, "If it is bothering you this much, then it  _ is  _ that important." 

The boy sighed, still staring at the ground. He stood there silently, and Arrow waited patiently for his response, figuring the boy would talk when he was ready. 

Darius reluctantly mumbled an answer. "It was…. just a nightmare…" 

"... Do you want to talk about it?" Arrow asked, motioning for the boy to come closer. 

Darius hesitated, but he took a few steps towards the other. He wasn't sure if he wanted to if he was being honest. He didn't know Arrow as well as he did Vancha, and he wasn't sure if he was ready to tell the other everything that had gone through his head. Still, he didn't want to be alone, and he knew Vancha was probably asleep, so he decided to stay. 

"I don't wanna bother you…" The boy mumbled.

"Darius, if you were bothering me, would I have invited you to stay?" Arrow pointed out, before continuing, "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but if you do, I will listen."

There's a silence between the two of them. For the first time since he'd entered the hall, Darius looked at the prince. Almost like he was looking for some kind of trick, like this was some kind of trap Arrow was setting up. Arrow could understand why the boy would be wary of things like this, after all the things he'd heard about his father. So he'd wait patiently, let Darius decide whether or not he could trust him. 

"... You can talk when you're ready. But so long as you are in here, you may as well have a seat." He gestured to what once had been Darren's throne. 

Darius paused. "Are you sure?"

"I doubt he'd mind. Besides, it can be our little secret." Arrow said with a gentle smile and a wink. 

Darius managed a smile before he sat down. It was strange, almost uncomfortable, knowing it had once been his uncle's, but Arrow was being nice.  _ And Darius wanted to keep it that way. _

There's another long silence. It's a bit more of a comfortable one, as though the pair were finally beginning to get used to each other. Arrow wasn't someone who liked to talk if he didn't have something to say, so he simply waited for the boy to say something. Darius on the other hand, couldn't seem to figure out what he was supposed to say. He couldn't find the right words to explain everything, he didn't know how to stutter out a thanks to the other for letting him stay. The boy only stared straight ahead, thinking.

Darius didn't like when he started thinking. It would always circle back to the same memories, to the same questions that no one could ever answer. Like _why? Why him? Why did his father lie to him, what drove him to leav-_

Darius took a breath. He wasn't doing this. Not here. Not now. Not in front of Arrow, not in front of  _ anyone _ . Not even Vancha had really seen the worst of how emotional he could get. Sure, he'd seen him after his nightmares, but things had never been  _ that _ bad. Or least Darius had gotten very, very good at convincing himself they weren't. 

Darius finally breaks the silence. 

_ It starts in that theater. It always does.  _

Arrow listened closely as Darius spoke. He's heard this story, Vancha had told it all to him when the boy first arrived. But still, he listened silently, letting the boy's thought's tumble out of his mouth. 

_ That look in his father's eyes.  _

Arrow had never seen the look Darius spoke of, but he can feel the fear in the boy's voice as he describes it. He understood what the boy meant when he said sometimes he can see that look when he closed his eyes. The mind always had a way of showing you things you didn't wish to remember during times like these.

_ The snap.  _

_ That sound. _ The one Darius can't stand remembering, and the thought is enough to make Arrow feel sick. Arrow may have had blood on his hands, but to  _ murder a child- _ The thought made his stomach turn. And knowing Darius had watched his father do something so horrific so young… It was no wonder the boy had nightmares. 

_ The dare.  _

Arrow's not sure if Darius had even realized that tears were beginning to fall from his eyes, because if he did, the boy made no effort to hide it now. If he hadn't already been made sick by the description of the death of the snake boy, he was now. To think a father would toy with the life of their own son… Not to mention someone he had considered an old friend had nearly dealt that killing blow… 

_ The nightmare's different. Darren doesn't stop in the nightmare. _

He knew he couldn't even begin to understand how Darius must've felt waking up from that, or everything he had been through, but he did know one thing.  _ He was going to keep this boy safe.  _ Before he realized what he was doing, the vampire was off his throne, pulling the young boy into a hug. 

And it was a hug Darius had certainly needed. The boy was clinging to Arrow now, letting the tears fall freely now. Arrow was doing his best to comfort the now sobbing child in his arms, speaking softly. 

"I know things must be hard after all you've gone through.  _ But no one is going to hurt you. You're safe now,"  _ Arrow said, his voice barely above a whisper,  _ "I am going to keep you safe. I promise." _

_ "Promise?"  _ Darius whispered, almost like he didn't believe the other. 

_ "Promise. Prince's honor."  _ Arrow replied. 

He held the boy for a while longer, not moving. It wasn't until the other had stopped crying that Arrow let go of him. Darius sniffled, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. He was still a little unsure, but he was starting to believe that Arrow wouldn't break that promise. 

Soon the pair were back to sitting in silence, but it was at last a comfortable one. Arrow was glad he had been in the one in the hall today, wondering if perhaps the gods had somehow known Darius would need him tonight. And Darius, (though he wasn't quite ready to admit it,) was glad he had run into Arrow tonight. 

"Th-Thanks…" Darius finally broke the silence one more time as he wiped his eyes on his sleeve yet again. 

"Of course." Arrow replied, "Feel free to come back whenever you need to, alright? I'll be here whenever you need me. But we should get you back to bed, it is late- Er, well… Early I suppose." 

Darius yawned as Arrow picked him up with ease. ".... But aren't you supposed to stay in here?" 

"I am sure it will be alright if I am gone for only a minute or two. Besides, who will know besides the two of us?" Arrow replied with a grin.

Darius smiled as Arrow carried him out of the Hall. Once the boy was back to his room and sound asleep, Arrow returned to the hall. 

_ And he had every intention of keeping that promise. _

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> This was also my first attempt at writing Arrow, and god I hope it was good.


End file.
